The Argentine striker Mark RubenAthletico’s recent idol, said goodbye to football for the second time.
The 38-year-old played his last match with Rosario Central, last Saturday (14), in the 2-1 victory over Belgrano.
Revealed at Rosario Central itself, Ruben is the greatest scorer in the history of the Argentine club, with 110 goals scored in 286 matches played.
Marco Ruben, in an interview with ESPN, when saying goodbye to football
Central is the biggest passion I’ve had in my life
“Ever since my father brought me to the stadium through the ticket booths”, recalled the emotional player, who was applauded by his favorite club’s fans.
Athletico: Marco Ruben needed a year to become an idol
Marco Ruben also left his name in Athletico’s history. And it only took one season to do so.
In 2019, the already experienced and discreet player scored 13 goals in 42 matches with the Furacão shirt. He was decisive in winning the Copa do Brasil title that year.
Ruben scored one of the goals with his head in the important victory over Grêmio, 2-0, which took the duel to penalties and earned Rubro-Negro passage to the final of the competition. In the decision against Inter, he participated in the goals of Bruno Guimarães and Léo Cittadini.
He was also notable for scoring three goals in Athletico’s 3-0 victory over Boca Juniors, in Baixada, in that year’s Libertadores.
Former Joaquim Américo remembers the cry of “Maaaaarcoo”, which comes over the stadium’s sound system, after the Argentine’s goals, answered in the stands with “Ruuuuuuuben”.
Marco Ruben retires for the second time
This is not the first time that striker Marco Ruben has announced his retirement from football.
He had already hung up his boots, for the first time, in 2022. However, the following year, he went back and signed with Deportivo Maldonado, from Uruguay.
After one season with the team, he agreed to return to Rosario Central, for the final season of his career.